I don't think that there is much to be gained by bemoaning the turns a
popular series may take. It's a bit like complaining when your favourite band
takes an unexpected musical turn - just think how many fans of "Creep" lost
their minds when THE BENDS hit the shelves, much less the records that
followed. That said, I, like most of the RPGamer staff I'm sure, have grown
up with Link. What is most surprising, perhaps, is that LInk has sort of
grown up with us as well. Each installment has, to me, added increasingly
deep gameplay and most recently, ignoring Capcom's excellent side-games, a
mixture of dark atmospheres and light silliness that very much appealed to my
23 year-old, graduate student mentality. Each previous game has fit its time
(and the time in my life) almost nearly as well as the N64 titles. The next
game though, may for the first time, be out of sync with both me and the
times. That's only sad for me and those gamers like me. In 1986, Link as a
Playmobile figurine might have been appealing. But in 1986, I was eight years
old. Luckily, there will many, many gamers who will continue to connect with
this latest turn. For this I am glad. I don't mourn the series, only my own
nostalgia for it.

Thank you,
Andrew Sullivan

LordBrian:
Why is it that you can relate to a child, but not to a cartoon? Yes, I grew up with Link, but Link didn't grow up with me.
How old is he in Majora's Mask, 10?

I, for one, think the new look of the series is great.
The thing about Nintendo games is that they may be targeted towards a younger audience than you're a part of, but you
don't have to be a little kid to enjoy them. I feel that Zelda works a lot better when it's more lighthearted; it's more
fun that way. The N64 versions were missing something that made the other games fun to play...maybe not so much
missing something, but having too much of something else: a dark atmosphere. Not that the previous games didn't have any
darkness (like, y'know, an entire Dark World), but they were comical, like it or not. Ocarina of Time and
Majora's Mask, as good as they were, would have benefited a lot by throwing in some humor. It's Nintendo, it should
be fun to play. You want dark, go buy a PS2.

And that's the whole point. What it looks like is irrelevant -- that's just a matter of taste. It's the mysterious "fun factor"
that determines if it's a good game for me or not. Zelda should be fun, and this new game looks to have fun in spades.
All of you saying Nintendo has ruined the series with the new look, I have this to say to you: shut up. Nobody
wants to hear your unsubstantiated opinions that since it looks like it's made for 7 year olds, that's how it'll play.
Nintendo has yet to let me down when it comes to Zelda, so they have my trust. Sure, some were better than others, but they were all good.
Weep for your nostalgia all you want, but remember that aside from the N64 games (and possibly Zelda 2), they were all
cartoony to begin with. Maybe you should go back and play them again to refresh your memory. And in the end, like the
letter above was trying to say through its musical analogy, your opinion means exactly jack when it comes to affecting
how Nintendo will make their games.

Yeah, articles on the main page are pretty hard to see

OK, I have about a couple of quick ones so here goes:
1. What's up with the third Final Fantasy remake for Wonder Swan? I haven't
heard much about it, and I'm wondering whether it was released or canceled...

LordBrian:
I haven't heard anything either, so I'm assuming it's still in development. Not that it really matters, unless you're planning
on importing it.

2. Is the new Zelda's graphical style a result of a brave artistic vision, or
a result of hallucinogenic drugs? Actually, I like the style. It's cartoonish
simplicity reminds me of good ol' "Link to The Past" for SNES.. But do you
think the new style could potentially harm the Game Cube Zelda's success
amongst US Zelda fans?

LordBrian:Click here to find the reasoning behind the change. And no,
I really doubt the different style will hurt Zelda's success at all. It's Zelda. People buy Zelda. Printing this game
will be like printing money.

3. Is it possible to achieve 1000 jumps in the Final Fantasy 9 jump rope
mini-game WITHOUT going insane?!?!
Okay, that's all. Back to jump-roping... I wish to kill the demented impish
Japanese man who thought up of this damned mini-game...
-The Cat of Implosion
"Insert hilarious/cool-sounding quote here"

LordBrian:
Gah, I hate that minigame so much. I spent so much time on it and I got up to about 220 or so...then I sneezed and
screwed up my whole pattern. I never went back to it after that, and to this day I have an intense fear of jump ropes.

I still can't get over how freaking awesome that show is

Hi! I was wondering if you knew how to take screen captures of PS2 games
(and dvd movies) and get them to your computer for other use. I know
absolutely nothing about this mind you, but what I want to do is: I want
to make desktop wallpapers using screen caps that I took myself, rather
than find one's on the web. There are a lot of screen caps out there,
but they either aren't the one's I want, or are bad quality. So I'd like
to take my own, but I don't know anything about it. What would I need
and how do I go about doing it? Any help would be much appreciated.

LordBrian:
Easiest way I can think of for PS2 games (or any other console, for that matter) is to buy a TV card for your
computer, which will let you take screenshots and even movie captures with the simple click of the mouse. The problem with
this is that you'll probably only end up with a screen cap with a maximum size of 640x480, which is fine if that's
what you have your desktop resolution at, but will look really bad at anything higher.

I guess that method would work for DVDs too, if you play them through your PS2. However, if you have a DVD-ROM
and watch movies on your computer you can get a screen capture program to take full-screen images. These programs
are easy enough to find on the Internet, so go hit a search engine.

Um, since I guess I should ask an RPG related question: Have you played
the Rurouni Kenshin RPG for the PS1 (import)? Know anything about it? I
am a HUGE Kenshin fan, and I already have the Kenshin fighter for PS1,
so do you think it would be worth it to get the RPG? I understand that
it's gonna be all japanese text, and I don't read/speak japanese, but
I'm sure I can get a translation (I actually already have the
translation, but don't know if the game is worth getting from an RPG
point of view; fyi, I've played just about every RPG for the Saturn,
PS1, and DC, so I'm well rounded). Thanks!
Nick

LordBrian:
Funny thing about that Kenshin RPG. I was talking with someone after I had just finished watching the series, and
I got to thinking how it would make a really good RPG, with an even better battle system. Lo and behold, I found out
that an RPG like I was describing already existed. I have yet to play the game, but from what I hear it's pretty good.
If you have a translation, I'd say go for it. Playing games with translations can be a pain, though (spoken with
experience...that's how I went through FF5 the first time). And since it seems you already went through all the
current games worth playing, you probably don't have anything better to do.

There's only 1 'e' in Bebop...unless CN is on higher quality crack than usual

Hello mighty Brian,of whom I may have the chance to get an answer from,

1.)I saw a commercial for new shows that Cartoon Network is showing,and I
saw...Cowboy Beebop. That's right. Cowboy Beebop will soon be appearing on
Cartoon Network,but,as a kicker,before they show it,the network dispays a
warning that it isn't intended for people under 17. Nifty,neh?

LordBrian:
If anyone out there hasn't seen this series yet, WATCH IT NOW. If you have seen it, then WATCH IT AGAIN. It's well worth your
time. Hopefully it's on late enough so they won't censor it too much.

Oh, and there's gonna be new episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, too. How cool is that?

2.)I'm writing a script for a game I plan on making. Do you know of any
publishers willing to take up my offer?

LordBrian:
If you're planning on making a game, why do you need the script published? Any desktop printer with ink in it should do
the job nicely, and for lots less money.

3.)School sucks. You opinion?

Well,I won't bother you with anymore questions

The Masked Mystere
"Yogert! I hate yogert! Especially the kind with the fruit on the bottom!"

LordBrian:
Yeah, school sucks the proverbial giant ass. However, after this long and intensely strenuous summer, I'm just about ready to go
back.
...
...
I can't believe I just said that.

We've been over the Zelda thing already

Hey Lord!

I'm looking to buy some PSX rpg's. The thing is I only have a PS2 and I
heard that some games don't work with it... could you tell me which RPG's
don't? I heard FFA was one of them.

Oh and the new Zelda is just... eww... its just so ugly. I'm heart broken.
But if you can throw your sword again, all is forgiven.

-Laguna

LordBrian:
I've heard the same thing about PSX games, but I have yet to find any that don't work. Some might have problems running
if you turn on the speed enhancement and/or texture smoothificator thingy (for example, FF4's music can be wacky), but
the games are fine if you keep those features off. I personally didn't have any problems with FFA, so go for it.

If LoD wasn't a Sony game, do you think it still would have made GH status?

My old copy of Chrono Cross Disc 1 is faulty, so I am thinking of takign
advantage of Chrono Cross being on greatest hits and forking over only 20
bucks. I was wondering if it takes a few weeks or some time for the greatest
hits version and price to actual be available? I know it was announced, but
when its announced, is it in retail stores immediately? And if stores still
have a copy of the old Chrono Cross in stock, do the generally try to sell
that at full price, rather than get the new installment with a lower price.
Laaaassst thing, know of any online retailers who support greatest hits? I
just visited a bunch of online stores and most of them seem to have Chrono
Cross and backorder.

LordBrian:
I was in Electronics Boutique just yesterday with someone who wanted to buy CC, and all they had were original copies.
He still got it for the Greatest Hits price, so apparently it goes for all copies, not just the ones with the green
sidebar. And all legit online retailers should be selling the game for the lower price.

Taking it one question at a time

Hey (monks sing) LORD BRI-AN
I was noticing since I pointed out the ofteness of wipped males in RPG's.
What are the most extreme examples of whipped males? Also, what is the
silliest and/or most disturbing scene in a game? I'd say that the infamous
Wall Market was what counts as both in my book? Any silly guesses as who
Googleshng is? Who has the wierdest or scariest laugh? You noticed that
everyday people in my opinion are as dumb as townsfolk in RPG's?
Imperial Mog

LordBrian:
What is it with you and whipped males, are you jealous? I dunno the most extreme case, but Fei (from XG) was pretty whipped...by destiny
herself! You took my pick for most disturbing, but my second choice (damn that XG) would be the cricified pink one.
Since I'm quite well aware of who Goog really is, I have no need for silly guesses (a slime, duh). Coolest evil laugh ever would have
to go to Ghaleon. And finally, I think you're insulting RPG townfolk a little too much there. Lighten up a little.

And now a word from someone who isn't me

Is that a Shenmue quote? It sounds like something Ryo would say. Heh :)

Ikari_Gendo

Google:
Oh smurf. I forgot to give tildes out didn't I? A whole bunch
of people got this week's, so here: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I Go:

I was just listening to the Shenmue soundtrack, too. Weird. Anyway, I'm back again tomorrow. I'm sure you're all
jumping for joy, but when you get tired of that take some time and write me a letter. I like reading mail nearly as much
as I like responding to it. Get writing.

LordBrian "I walk the path of death and destruction." @rpgamer.com
And the rivers will flow with the blood of those who oppose us.